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| - We were able to get reservations 3 hours before we wanted to arrive, so that was exciting. It's a small, very dark restaurant on Queen East. Street parking is free right outside the restaurant (free after 6pm in that area) so that is a huge bonus. I little bit better lighting would be nice, I would like to see my food a bit more than I could, but that is a minor detail. Seats were comfortable and we were fortunate to have an actual table for 2, and not have to share at one of those large, long tables.
Fixed menu, food served family style. This is no secret and they tell you on the website and when you arrive they explain how it works. Unless you have a massive appetite, the 4 course set menu is more than enough food. They have the option of 2 additional add ons to the menu for an additional cost, but I truly cannot figure out who one each could have physical room in their stomach for them.
We had rack of pork in a maple vinaigrette with raisins, smashed sweet potatoes with pecan granola, glazed carrots, charred broccoli in garlic butter, started with a kale panzanella salad and then a cheese plate with a tiny amount of Grey Owl that was very, very pungent finished by gingerbread cheesecake with cranberry jam for desert. We had a local beer and a lovely rose from Northern France that matched the meal perfectly. As it was our anniversary, our server upgraded my wine order and comped an addition glass part way through the meal even though I protested. That was a very kind gesture and he was handsomely compensated in our tip. They put 2 little candles in our dessert for our anniversary and both servers wish us Happy Anniversary and were extremely friendly, competent, warm and fun! The servers really make this experience, and the staff seems to be quite happy and very competent.
My complaints are few, but worth nothing. One is the food temperature, nothing was very warm and I was tempted to send back the dinner to have it heated properly. I like my food hot, not tepid like bath water that has sat too long. Particularly meat, that should be hot, like piping hot and steaming! The layer of fat around the pork chop need just a bit more cook as it could have been a little crispy and over-the-top delicious, but it was a bit under cooked, sticky and turned my stomach.
The side dishes were all good, except the broccoli that was barely cooked so that was disappointing. For 2 people, the sides are just barely enough considering the price of the meal and what you get in other restaurants. They should reconsider the amount of vegetables they serve, add a few extra pieces, it won't cost much, and ensure they are hot when carried out of the kitchen. The kitchen was maybe 12 feet from our table, so I'm not sure why the food could not be served hot.
The dessert was amazing. I think the salad and the buttermilk biscuit and the dessert were my favourite parts of the meal. The amazing wine was above and beyond the best part of my entire experience!
The servers are very friendly and they encourage you to go back and talk to Lynn Crawford, and she was there the night we went. However, Lynn Crawford really is not that friendly at all, and even just saying "hello, we enjoyed our meal, the food was delicious" seemed like we were really bothering her, like truly being a huge pain in the ass. So for that reason, I struggled to give this restaurant a 4 or 5. If Lynn doesn't want patrons to speak to her, she should tell her wait staff the because the told us many times to "go on back and say hello".
The Lynn we saw at the restaurant was nothing like the friendly, outgoing, boisterous, laughing person you see on TV on Pitching In or any other show I have seen her on. That part was really disappointing to me. I have admired her cooking for years and just wanted to say hello and have a quick 30 second chat, maybe a photo, but she was sending off a serious "F-off and die" vibe through the daggers in her eyes. I should never have bothered and then I could have remained delusional thinking she was the friendly, laughing character she is on TV.
Not cool, Lynn, really not cool at all.
I don't think we will be back. It's a "been there, done that" type of experience, and her cool reception really left us with a bad vibe. It's just far too much money to spend to be left feeling that way and to be served luke warm food.
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